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Saturday, May 5, 2012

We had fun at the grocery store with Gigi! :) We were out of completely EVERYTHING at home it seemed like, haha! So, this was definitely a MUST today! :) And we got through the entire store, loaded all of the groceries in to the car, and hopped in the our seats when it started pouring! God's good to us like that, haha! :)

Alright... and now for our day! :)

I cleaned most of the morning. You know.. .the Friday routine! :) Once I got done, the babies were both kind of cranky, so I figured I would lay them down for a nap and relax. I honestly had TV shows saved on my DVR from Monday on. So, I spent some time catching up on 'Secret Life of the American Teenager,' 'Newlywed Game,' '16 and Pregnant,' and 'Betty White's Off Their Rockers.' Good shows! Thank God for DVR!

And I got dressed. You know, I hate the heat. You know, I hate the summer. But boy, do I love being able to wear little summer dresses! :) I even paired this summer dress with a side braid and a headband!

I love that combo! :)

And then the babies woke up and they both wanted up on the couch, haha! So, I let Tayler climb up there and I put Kenton beside of her. They sat like this the entire 'Yo Gabba Gabba' episode, lol! I thought they looked like such big kids!!

I finished up the grocery list too (big shocker, eh, since you already saw we went to the grocery store LOL) And I finished up what the meals were going to be for the week:

If you can't read that...

Monday: Taco Dip and Strombolis (per my husband's request!) Notice a pattern here? We have this like once a week because it's his favorite, haha! I bought jalapenos to put in the strombolis. I'm pretty excited about that ;)Tuesday: Cubed Steak/Mashed Potatoes/Veggie (this is my favorite!)

And once I got home from the store, I used the margarita thing I bought! Have you ever seen the margaritas that are frozen in these little packages and all you have to do is thaw them and put them in a glass?

OH MY WORD.

THEY ARE AMAZING.

I didn't feel bad at all enjoying one of these last week! It's been a loooooong week and this was deserved I think ;) LOL!!

And I thought I'd share two other pictures of the scenery from Thursday night. I think it's just gorgeous here!

Isn't it beautiful there? I'm excited! I have a session there on Saturday, so I am anxious to see how they turn out!! :)

Friday, May 4, 2012

and since EVERY Throwback Thursday I post something about my daughter from last year, I thought I'd share this picture of her. This is about this exact date last year... give or take a few days of course!

She was right around 6 weeks. CRAZY. Already being a smiley baby :) LOVE her. And honestly-- I miss her being that little! :(

And now for the May Photo Challenge.

The task today was 'Something You Wore.'

It was almost 90 degrees today.

I wore a nice little Summer dress! :) What did you wear today??

And guess what?

I had A LOT of visitors today, but unfortunately, I only remembered to get a picture with one, haha! My mom and dad came over for lunch (at separate times.. so I got to spend some alone time with each of them :) It was really nice!) And my long lost friend Helen came to visit. We used to be best friends back in the day. We worked together, hung out on our days off... she was Helen the Felen, haha! Such good times! I have missed her and was glad she was back in town for a little while!

Okay and we are seriously pathetic.

We ordered this again... even though I had something to cook! UGH. But seriously, it tasted soo good last week, we figured 'Eh, why not?' YUMMM :)

But I still had to cook anyways because I needed to make something for E's lunch. So I still ended up cooking rice, chicken, broccoli, and some teryaki sauce. He better love me ;)

After that, we headed out to pick up a new prop that I bought off of Mamma's Market... AND to look for a new place to take pictures. I LOVE the place I am currently taking pictures, but honestly... I wanted something more. I wanted something that made me excited... and enthusiastic about pictures! I LOVE taking pictures, but the setting.. I just didn't 'feel' it. Well, guess what?

I FOUND THAT PLACE.

I have to tell you the peace that I felt there! This was seriously the PERFECT time of day for pictures! It was just gorgeous and I cannot wait to start doing all of my pictures there!! :) SOOOO EXCITED!!

Isn't God's masterpiece amazing? Only He could repaint this day after day...

Tayler came along for the ride too and she loved it ;) Here she is standing by Mommy's car (I know the quality is terrible, but i used my cell phone of course LOL!!)

Chewing on the toy car her Gigi bought her.

And here she is in the stroller. Little Alyssa. I'm sure that's what everyone is going to say ;)

She's so ornery!

Once we got home.. it was bath time and American Idol time.

I CANNOT believe that Skyler Laine got voted off before freaking Hollie. America. SERIOUSLY? I don't know what people are voting for anymore considering Hollie is still there and Elise, Coltin, and Skyler have all gone home...

But.

I digress.

Tayler looked extremely cute playing with her daddy's feet while AI was on...

I wouldn't play with those feet ;) haha but oh well, she thought it was hysterical!

I have marked the day I met my husband.The day I moved in with my husband.The day we found out we were expecting a baby.The day we found out she was a girl.My entire pregnancy.The day we got married.The day our baby was born.Her first year.

Everything.

This is exactly what the beauty of blogging is! It captures our LIVES. I am so thankful for being able to write this post right now! :) And in honor of that.... LETS CELEBRATE!!!

I had 23 comments where the individuals left a way to contact them or their name for the Scentsy Blog Giveaway today!! :)

And through random.org.....

THE WINNER IS...

HEATHER F.

I will contact you as soon as I am done writing this!

Thank you to everyone that participated in this blog giveaway! I wish I could give away something to everyone, but unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money, haha! I love and appreciate each and every one of you that takes the time to read this blog, post comments, etc. It means the world to me!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

First, let me start out by reminding you all about the blog giveaway that is currently taking place! You have until tomorrow morning to write a comment! :) Click on the link above and follow the directions! Can't wait to pick a winner!!

And now for the May Photo Challenge! Day #2's task was:

SKYLINE.

We took the kiddos outside today (more about that later) and I thought the sky and trees were just gorgeous next to one another :)

And now... for our day!

It was like 10:00AM and yes, my daughter was all ready ready for a nap, haha! She is hilarious sometimes!

I'll take her snuggling with me though! She NEVER wants to anymore! If she's going to sleep.. it hassss to be in her crib. Go figure, haha!

After a nap, she decided to get up and play with Kenton, so I got started making the grocery list and clipping coupons. I LOVE doing this on Wednesdays because I get a basic list going and then I just add to it as I see things that are out! Makes it so much easier on me! :)

A few hours later, both kids were cranky and since Tayler only took about a 20 minute nap on me.. I figured they were both extremely tired, so I laid them both down for a nap and got started on dinner! I was going to try and make meatloaf again tonight. I made it over a year ago... when I was pregnant.. and it turned out terrrrrible! I did nothing but cry (thanks hormones!) after that! So, I finally decided to be brave today.. and try it again! I was making it with sour cream and garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese, and smores brownies.

Some were curious about the recipe. I got it from HERE. It's pretty basic and simple! :)

And here's our meal:

I seriously love seeing the smile on my husband's face when he sees dinner on the table when he comes home from work! Nothing better! :)

And I did a close up of dessert:

Smores brownies.

These are SUPER simple! Make brownies just like the box tells you too.. or however you wanna make them, haha! After they come out of the oven and are nice and warm, stick some marshmallows and graham crackers on top. I put mine back in the oven for about 3-4 minutes! Just keep an eye on them because the marshmallows bake quickly! And VOILA :) Perfect little treat! They were yummy!

After that, we took the kiddos outside! It was TOO beautiful not to! We packed them up in the double stroller, took a little walk, then let them swing and play! :) Here's Tayler.. not playing.. eating grass, haha!

Isn't she beautiful? :) And ornery! We had sooo much fun outside! But it started getting extremely hot and they both started getting extremely cranky, haha! Don't worry kids-- I get cranky in the heat too!

So we headed home!

Kenton left and it was time for our nightly routine. I LOVE bath time with Tayler :) Like I always say... we play worship music, sing to Jesus, and relax. It's perfect.

Then she went to bed (she was a tired thing today) and Ethan and I stayed up to watch American Idol. I love being able to relax and be goofy with him!

And as for...

Is anyone else just getting bored with it? I hate even saying that because I love the show so much, but I am literally BORED when I watch it anymore. But... anyways. Who do I think is going home tonight? Probably Hollie. Although, I wish Philip Philips would. He just stands there and sings. It drives me crazy.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

First, I want to remind everyone about the giveaway that is taking place! Friday morning I will be writing my 1000th blog post! :) This is a huge deal for me since I started blogging December 1st, 2009. I have since met my husband, got pregnant, got married, had a baby, and watched her turn 1 year old! So much has been captured in this one blog! :) Please join me in celebrating it! Check out the giveaway right now! :)

And guess what?

We started off the May Photo Challenge today!

The task today was:

PEACE.

I got this ring 6 years ago when I started struggling with anxiety. I wore it everywhere I went. It symbolized the fact that Jesus was EVERYWHERE with me. And I have never taken it off my thumb! :) It is a constant reminder that HE is my peace!

And I thought Tayler looked SUPER cute today :) Our friend Linda bought this outfit for Tayler for her 1st birthday from Cracker Barrel and it was finally warm enough for her to wear it! It is just absolutely adorable!!

(Can y'all tell I'm still addicted to instagram?? ;))

I spent the day editing and getting CDs ready to mail out! :) And then it was time to get dinner started. Both babies laid down for a nap at 2:00PM, so I had plenty of time to get started. Even though it's hot outside, I have been craving Broccoli and Cheese soup! Every time I am at Walmart, I see these soup mixes by Cugino's and I wanted to try them! So I bought the soup mix and some frozen broccoli at the store! It is SUPER easy to do. You take 6 cups of water and 2 cups of cold milk and combine them in a pot, then add the soup mix and the frozen broccoli. Turn it up, get it boiling, and cook it on medium-high for 25 minutes.

While that was cooking, I made pasta salad and banana cream pudding as well! :) I cut up some yummy french bread...

MY FAVORITE BREAD...

and our dessert. YUM!! :)

(Sorry for picture quality! I used my phone and I was rushing to eat, haha!)

and that was our meal!

I love having dinner ready for my hubby when he comes home from work! Ethan said it was really good, so I'll take it, haha! :)

And I had to laugh. Yo Gabba Gabba was on as soon as the kiddos woke up from their naps LOL!! :) Tayler says 'Babba Babba!' hahaha! Gotta love it! At least it was a good episode, right?? :)

Tayler ate dinner after she woke up and we realized something..... Tayler LOVES pasta salad! It was completely gone. I was impressed! Looks like I'll be making that more often! :)

And she must have been full.

She climbed up on the couch.. and this is how she sat to watch 'Yo Gabba Gabba' LOL!! Must have been very relaxed, hahahahah!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

First, I just wanted to tell you all that there is a blog giveaway going on. On Friday, I will be writing my 1000th blog. A huge deal for me!! :) And of course, I wanted to celebrate! Check it out.. and celebrate with me on Friday! Please spread the word about it as well! Thank you!!

and now..

for the LAST DAY of our April Photo Challenge! Crazy, right? :)

Today's task was: 'Something that Makes You Sad'

Noo. My daughter doesn't make me sad... it's the fact that she's SO big that does :( Today marked Tayler being 13 months old. Is that insane or what??? I know I talk about it all the time... how fast time is going.. but honestly guys... it is! Days sometimes seem like they drag but the 13 months she has been alive are just flying! She was getting ready to take a nap here :)

I had a lot to do today which kind of sucked considering it was SO gorgeous out! I had to do laundry from the weekend, dishes, check Ethan's homework he had to submit today, and edit pictures. Once I got all of that done and laid the kiddos down for a nap, I made 'stir fry' for Ethan and myself :) I don't know if you'd even call it 'stir-fry' haha but that's what we call it around here! I use Jamabalya rice to make it spicier, chicken, green peppers, and onions! Pretty tasty!

And after that, we took the kiddos out outside. I am telling you-- it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL out today!

You know me, I had to take my camera out with me, haha! I took the above picture on Instagram, but then I whipped my other camera out and got some pictures of Kenton and Tayler :) Here's one I LOVED of Tayler:

She was having so much fun, hehe! I just adore her!

Once we got home, the kids played in the play room for awhile. Tayler was cracking us up because she had the tent flipped and was looking at us through the top of it, LOL

What a goofball!

And I had to document.

I love wearing my husband's t-shirts to bed. They are just so much comfier than mine and I'm not even sure why, haha!

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All About Alyssa

Alyssa

I'm just a simple 29 year old mommy that wants to change the world. God is my heartbeat- I've been blessed beyond measure. I am married to my best friend, Ethan, and we have three gorgeous babies that are (5) (3), and (1) I'm disorganized, clumsy, and often forgetful. I prefer salts to sweets. I have an unhealthy obsession with buying movies and books. Life is a gift and I certainly don't intend on wasting it.